Indian Mango Dal

I love Indian food! So I suppose it is a good thing I live in Seattle because I have soo many options! I was looking for lentil recipes a while back and found this one from Eating Well and decided to give it a try. Well I have made it several times now because it is really good!



This is a jar opener but it also does the trick to take the papery skin off of garlic


Slightly dampen a paper towel and wipe down mushrooms. You can do a quick rinse and then wipe them down but never soak mushrooms. They will absorb water and become rubbery and lose their flavor otherwise.


I still prefer to peel my mango and then dice it but the slice then scoop  method looks better on camera. So I changed things up a bit just for this post.


Now it’s ready to eat! Also you can see that there are mushroom in my picture but not in the actual recipe. I had some mushrooms that needed used up so I tossed them in and they tasted great and also gave a little more texture to the dish.

• 1 cup yellow lentils (I used brown but yellow would probably be “prettier”)
• 4 cups water
• 1 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 2 Tbs coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 ripe mangos, peeled and diced
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1. Place lentils in a colander and rinse until the water runs clear. Combine lentils, 4 cups water, 1/2 teaspoon salt and turmeric in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, partially cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add cumin seeds and cook until fragrant and starting to brown, about 30 seconds. Add onion; cook, stirring, until soft and beginning to brown, 4 to 6 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, coriander, cayenne and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring, for 1 minute more.
3. Stir the garlic mixture and mangoes into the lentils. Return to a simmer; cook, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are falling apart, 10 to 15 minutes more. Stir in cilantro

One last thing. I always cook up a huge pot of lentils and freeze what I don’t use. So I probably cook up 4 cups and then scoop out 2 cups once they are cooked to use with this dish.